LOOPER workshop taking place on 19 November

7 November 2018

The LOOPER (Learning Loops in the Public Realm) project is bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to operationalise potential sustainability interventions in Ardwick.

The purpose of the workshop is to evaluate proposed improvements to the public realm in Brunswick. These proposals will be the product of a co-design process involving local residents and other stakeholders. They address concerns about air quality, traffic safety and community/green spaces.

This workshop is part of a European project called LOOPER (Learning Loops in the Public Realm) led by the University of Manchester in partnership with S4B and Manchester City Council. Similar processes are under way in Brussels and Verona.

The local LOOPER team is engaged in a participatory research and co-creation process with residents of Brunswick to identify and understand problems in the public realm and to propose interventions, some of which will be piloted in early 2019. We would like to ask you to be part of the process of evaluating the desirability and feasibility of the proposed solutions from your perspective as a stakeholder at the neighbourhood or city level. We need your input to decide which solutions should be implemented.

We will be using a workshop process and software called Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA), which was developed by LOOPER partner Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels). MAMCA (https://www.mamca.be) provides a robust method to capture multiple views and select optimal solutions based on them. We hope that you will find this process interesting and that it may be useful to you in other contexts. We also hope that your input will shape the kinds of evidence that are collected and enhance the possibility that beneficial interventions can be scaled up across the city.

The workshop will be two hours long with lunch provided at the end and time for informal exchange. It will be held 10.00-13.00, 19 November 2018 in Room 1.69/1.70, Humanities Bridgeford Street Building, University of Manchester.

Hosts:

UoM (Janice Astbury, James Evans, Joe Ravetz)

MCC (Ruth Billingham, Patrick Hanfling, Katrina Keane)

S4B (Ross Hemming, Sharon Thomas)

Confirmed participants to date:

Val Bayliss-Brideaux, Senior Engagement Manger, Manchester CCGs, NHS

Neil Bayliss-Rowe, Highways Development Control Manager, MCC

Andy Connell, Traffic Engineer, MCC

Sheena Cruickshank, Professor of Immunology and Public Engagement, UofM